The present disclosure relates to a quick connect terminal connector configured such that by means of an operation of simply inserting (pushing in) a wire into a terminal, when the wire is clamped by the terminal, an electrical connection is simultaneously established, and more specifically relates to a quick connect terminal connector that enables the electrical detection of the connection of the wire to the terminal.
Conventional electronic devices include a connector with a terminal to which a wire is connected, that is soldered onto the surface of a printed circuit board and is configured so as to be surrounded by an insulating casing. Such a connector includes a so called quick connect terminal connector that establishes an electrical connection between the wire and the terminal at the same time the wire is clamped into the terminal by means of an operation of simply inserting the wire into the terminal (for example, see Patent Document 1).
Such a quick connect terminal connector is not only advantageous in terms of the process of inserting a wire into a terminal but also in terms of the simple process of pulling the wire out from the terminal to separate them. Specifically, the wire in a clamped state may easily be separated from the terminal simply by pressing a pressure arm that is formed on the insulating casing by fingertip or using a screw driver, or the like.
While the aforementioned quick connect terminal connector does have such advantages, because the terminal is covered by a housing, it is impossible to visually confirm that the wire has been inserted therein. Therefore, an operation involving pulling the wire is required in order to confirm that the wire has been securely inserted; however, excessively pulling the wire may result in defects such as causing the wire to come off or causing damage to the terminal.
Furthermore, even if a hole, etc. is preliminarily provided in the housing such that insertion of the wire can be visually confirmed, due to the downsizing of connectors, small holes or terminals may potentially lead to visual confirmation mistakes.
Therefore, in order to solve such shortcomings, a connector which electrically enables the detection of the insertion of a wire into the connector without fail, thereby ensuring establishment of the electrical connection, has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 2).
FIG. 20 is a cross-section view of a conventional connector.
In the drawing, 811 is a housing of a connector, and 851 is a terminal arranged in an internal space 820 of the housing 811. Furthermore, 891 is a switch installed in the housing 811, with the movable part thereof capable of being projected downward from a ceiling 822 of the internal space 820. The switch 891 is configured so as to be switched on when the movable part is in a downwardly projected state from the ceiling 822 and switched off when the movable part is in a state of having been pushed into the ceiling 822. A conductive spring member 861 having a wedge piece 862 and a tilting piece 863 is attached to a terminal 851, with the movable part of the switch 891 initially in a state of having been pushed into the ceiling 822 by the tilting piece 863.
Herein, when an electric wire 951 is inserted into the internal space 820 through a clear hole 821 formed on the front face of the housing 811, the wedge piece 862 and the tilting piece 863 of the spring member 861 are pressed onto the lower face of the electric wire 951 and come into contact with the electric wire 951 by a spring force. Thereby, the electric wire 951 becomes electrically conductive with the terminal 851 via the spring member 861. Furthermore, because the tilting piece 863 is pressed down by the electric wire 951, the movable part of the switch 891 enters a downwardly projecting state as illustrated. Thereby, the switch 891 is switched on, electrically detecting the establishment of a conductive connection between the electric wire 951 and the terminal 851.
Patent Document 1: U.S. Pat. No. 8,328,586 Specification
Patent Document 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. H9-232015